As I’m sure the blogging universe has already made you aware (or maybe you actually watched some of the irksome, tedious action of game 1) the Spurs dominated the Cavaliers. You already know that San Antonio double or triple-teamed LeBron and kept him to 4-16 shooting. You know that the Cavs were out rebounded, out hustled and out everythinged on both ends of the floor, but you also know that they only lost by 9.
Maybe it is my love for such a great David vs. Goliath story, or maybe it is my hatred but secret jealousy for Tony Parker, but I still believe that the Cavs will win, maybe even in 6.
LeBron had an unfortunate “not being able to score when someone is playing defense” problem last night. He relied on a fade jump shot and it clearly wasn’t effective. His sheer athleticism led to plenty of wins (and posters) throughout the season, but this is the finals Bron Bron, and you’re gonna have to step your game up. As I’m not a basketball coach, I don’t have a very well thought out game plan, but LBJ must go back to the fundamentals of scoring. Coming off picks, stepping into a set shot and some really good post moves are all that will be effective against the defense-oriented Spurs.
Of course, there is a down side to San Antonio’s plan of swarming LeBron. It leaves his sometimes less-than-competent teammates open. Gibson supplied the most relief for LeBron on offense and Pavlovic and Gooden really helped when their defenders left for the double-team, getting 13 and 14 points respectively. Zydrunas and Verajoa failed to take advantage of the absence of Tim Duncan on said double-team situations and if they step up it should either free LeBron or lead to some easy buckets.
Hopefully, with his teammates rising to the occasion and some new scoring strategies, LeBron will make this a more exciting series and maybe even leave with a trophy.
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